Young males most at risk in road accidents

Males aged 17-24 account for just 6 per cent of the population but one in five driver deaths.

Males aged 17-24 account for just 6 per cent of the population but one in five driver deaths.

Such figures have prompted calls for a clampdown on "boy racers" commonly associated with flashy cars decked out with spoilers, metallic hubs and brightly-coloured bodywork.

However, modified car enthusiasts say the connection is flawed, and believe that they are being victimised for the crimes of a few rogue drivers.

Paul McCarthy of Flush Bus magazine, which hosted a customised car show in Dublin earlier this month attended by 7,000 enthusiasts, said: "Just because you have a tinted window or a louder exhaust it doesn't mean you are a danger on the road."

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The proposed ban would "put more stresses on the gardaí because they are going to have to go around with decibel-readers", he added.

Brian Farrell of the National Safety Council expressed some sympathy for this view.

He said the "attitude" of the driver was more relevant than the type of car from a safety perspective.

"There is a danger that we would tar all young drivers with the one brush, and use the tag line 'boy racer'.

"A 17-year-old male is just as likely - if not more likely - to get killed in his mother's Nissan Micra as some of these guys are who have spent an awful lot of money on their cars."

Joe Humphreys

Joe Humphreys

Joe Humphreys is an Assistant News Editor at The Irish Times and writer of the Unthinkable philosophy column